Eight domains of action in Resolution A/53/243(UN Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace)*Culture of peace through education*Sustainable economic and social development*Respect for all human rights*Equality between women and men*Democratic participation*Understanding, tolerance and solidarity*Free flow of information and knowledge*International peace and security

TOP PRIORITY: The organization's most important culture of peace activity

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS: What partnerships and networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the global movement for a culture of peace?

Steering Committee member of PLATFORM FOR FREEDOM, Member of HILL COUNTRY PEACE FORUM, SASA-NET, PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY, INTERFAITH MOVEMENT of Sri Lanka.Member of ANUVARATH GLOBAL ORGANISATION FOR NON VIOLENCE - India. Member of PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT NETWORK - International

ACTIONS: What activities have been undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence during the ten years of the Decade? If you already made a report in 2005, your information from 2005 will be included in the 2010 report.

2. Training and Development of NON VIOLENT CADRES (NOVICA) AND NON VIOLENT MESSENGERS ( NOVIM) to animate Non Violent actions and activities and to promote and propagate the message and importance of Non Violence in developing a Culture of Non Violence.

3. Development and Training of NON VIOLENT ACTION TEAMS (NOVAT) in various districts of Sri Lanka to act at time of emergencies either natural or man made ( natural catastrophes or conflicts of various types.

4. Development of AHIMSA SOCIETIES ( NON VIOLENT SOCIETIES) in various villages across the country to promote Non Violence as a way of life that respects Good Governance and to handle conflicts in the villages in a non violent way. To make Non Violence a house hold action and practice in day to day life.

5. Working towards the development of COMMUNITY ORGANISATION FORUM FOR SOCIAL ACTION AND DEVELOPMENT ( COFSAD) a network at the grass root level that would include all the organisations that is prevailing in the village community to work out the village action plan for Social Action and Development and to work together as a team to reach the plan. This is based on the concept of the Non Violent Culture where all participates in all the process and non one claims the credit. It works on the theme "Village Community Resources for the Village community Development.

6. Inter-Religious and Faith Forums to develop Inter Faith and Religious understanding and respect to promote harmony between religions and to promote the prevalence of Non Violence teachings in each religion and to work on the similarities.

7. National Integration Programmes between different parts of Sri Lanka, specially between the South and North & East of Sri Lanka and between the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim Communities for promotion of co-existence, harmony and unity between different ethnic, religious and other groups in Sri Lanka.

8. Exchange Programmes between different religious, ethnic and other groups within various parts of Sri Lanka to create understanding between various groups of people, who have been in conflicts for decades.

9. HOME STAY PROGRAMMES where people of one ethnic and religious group stays in the home of another ethnic and religious group, most of the time not knowing their local language and communicating using sign and body languages.

10. Publication of a Magazine dedicated solely for the the purpose of promoting NON VIOLENCE. This is a three language magazine published once in 6 months. The magazine is names as STRENGTH in English, DIRIYA in Sinhala and OOKKAM in Tamil.

11. Conducting public Talk Shows, Lectures, Seminars and Meeting on current socio, economic, political and religious issues with relevance and linkage to Non Violence.

12. Spiritual Development Camps for building strengths of Non Violence through meditation, practice of simple lifestyle and different groups living together with the presence of differences.

13. NON VIOLENT ACTION WORKCAMPS where different people come together to do some manual work in a selected village and engage in a educational session after the manual work and participate in a cultural event in the evening. These workcamps range from one day to two weeks. Working together promotes towards the breaking down of prejudices and creating of a better understanding between different people.

14. EXPERIENCE SHARING OF NON VIOLENCE is a programme where people at local and international are brought together to share their experience on the value, power and the concept of non violence and work towards promoting nonviolence as a lifestyle.

PROGRESS: Has your organization seen progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of action and in your constituency during the second half of the Decade?

We have seen progress at community level and between grass root groups. A lot has been seen at domestic level and within families.

At the political level we have seen little progress due to the non commitment of the politicians towards non violence. For them Non Violence is only in words and use it to focus them as persons committed to nonviolence. It practice they employ violence to meet their needs.

As such there is different of interest and a conflicting atmosphere between the community level actors and the political actors.

OBSTACLES: Has your organization faced any obstacles to implementing the culture of peace and nonviolence? If so, what were they?

A lot of obstacles and challenges has been faced. The main opposition came to us through the politicians who wanted to achieve their goal using violence and practices that are against Good Governance. Our programmes that focuses on the promotion of nonviolence have been at many times obstructed and had to face police intervention. We had been even criticized as agents of the west who are trying to use nonviolence and peace to work against the government and to implant western agendas.

PLANS: What new engagements are planned by your organization in the short, medium and long term to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence?

The further development of the AHIMSA SOCIETIES through the involvement of the NOVICA, NOVIM members and strengthening the NOVAT for active conflict and crisis involvement.

Strengthen and further development of the COFSAD in all the villages of Sri Lanka for sustainable development of the village based on the concept of culture of peace and nonviolence and without political interference.

Working towards the establishment of a SCHOOL OF NONVIOLENCE, HOME OF NONVIOLENCE and a VILLAGE OF NONVIOLENCE.

GLOBAL MOVEMENT: How do you think the culture of peace and nonviolence could be strengthened and supported at the world level??

# There needs to be strong commitment towards the culture of Peace and Nonviolence by all the actors.# Development of a GLOBAL NETWORK for the GLOBAL MOVEMENT of the Culture of Peace and Non Violence. # Communicating between the partners of the GLOBAL MOVEMENT.# Having GLOBAL FORUMS for meeting, learning from each other and exchanging experiences, ideas and lessons from different parts of the world. # Developing a email network for promotion of communication.